HAVING opted not to go to Down Royal last Saturday, I spent most of the morning congratulating myself on a wise decision. Outside of the feature, which looked interesting rather than enthralling, it was a poor card and there was no sense of FOMO kicking in.

How wrong I was. The Champion Chase delivered an early winter thriller in a style that only top staying chases can, with three of the four runners battling from the last to the line. The odds-on favourite Gerri Colombe won but that doesn’t tell the full story of the race.